Kathirikkai Palakottai Kootu recipe – This is a lip smacking Poricha Kuzhambu or kootu using brinjal and Palakottai that goes very well with rice. Palakottai is nothing but Jack fruit seeds that are so good to eat.

As jackfruit seeds do not have a special taste for itself, it takes in the taste of the gravy in which it is cooked and gives a nutty taste to the whole dish. To me next to cucumbers, palakottai is synonymous to Summer. While spending my holidays in Trichy during my childhood, I used to eat these seeds almost daily for lunch, snack and dinner. You can find it where ever you go and the scent of the jackfruit is not something that you can miss in a hurry.

The sellers will spread the jackfruit and its seeds on tender banana leaves and they will roll it in the leaves and tie it with either green or dark pink thread. If not for the elders at home who used to chide me not to over indulge as jack fruit evokes body heat manifold, I could very easily survive on it for days.

Coming to this recipe, it’s a childhood favorite. Grandma used to mix this kulambu or kootu with rice, drizzle ghee generously over it and I won’t even ask for any side dish and I would keep the seeds separately in the corner of my plate so that I could eat it along with curd rice. Apart from this kootu we make several other recipes using jackfruit seeds, which I shall share later on. But for now enjoy this hearty, mildly spiced poricha kuzhambu or kootu for your lunch.

Other than brinjals, you can also use raw mango and drumstick, either a combination of all these veggies or a mix and match and the aroma will be so good while the kootu is boiling.

As like any seed, palakottai also secretes milk while cutting them and while removing their skin, so to prevent it apply vegetable oil to your fingers before starting the work.

A creamy gravy using brinjals and jack fruit seeds that's served either as a side dish or eaten mixed with rice.

Prep Time10mins

Cook Time25mins

Total Time35mins

Course: Side Dish

Cuisine: South Indian

Servings: 4

Author: Radhika

Ingredients:

Kathirikkai or brinjal - 3

Palakottai or jackfruit seeds - 15

Yellow Moong dal or Paasi paruppu – 1/4 cup

Mustard seeds – 1/2 tsp

Urad Dal – 1 tsp

Fresh grated coconut – 1/4 cup

Cumin seeds – 1 tsp

Shallots or sambar onions - 2

Green chilies – 3

Sambar powder – 1/2 tsp

Turmeric powder – 1/4 tsp

Curry leaves – 1 sprig

Asafetida – 2 pinch

Salt – to taste

Oil – 2 tsp

Instructions:

Cut each jackfruit seed into 2 (horizontally). Remove the white skin around it and keep aside. Slit the brinjals lengthwise and further chop them into pieces and soak them in water to prevent discoloration.

Wash moong dal and transfer to a vessel, add 1/2 cup water, chopped brinjals, turmeric powder. In another vessel, keep the jackfruit seeds, 5 tbsp water, a pinch of salt. Keep both the vessels in a pressure cooker one on top of the other and pressure cook for 2 whistles over medium flame.

Meanwhile, grind together grated coconut, sambar onion, cumin seeds and green chilies to a smooth paste using little water and keep aside.

Heat a pan with oil. Add mustard seeds and when they splutter, add urad dal, curry leaves, asafetida and let it roast till it the dal becomes golden in color and the leaves become crisp.

Close the pan with a lid and let the kulambu cook over low flame for 5-7 mins.

Kathirikkai palakottai kootu is ready. Take off fire and transfer to a serving bowl.

You can either mix this poricha kuzhambu with rice to which a liberal dash of ghee is added and eat or serve this as a side dish with sambar or kaara kuzhambu rice.

Notes:

The jack fruit seeds that I used were tender, so I cooked it along with the dal itself and it was perfectly done. If by chance the seeds that use are hard and aged, you may have to pressure cook it separately for 4 to 5 whistles.

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